Sharing Warmth
by Frost Beak
Summary: Katt Monroe will look for ANY excuse to bug the ace pilot. One night, she's presented with the perfect opportunity to do so when the heating goes out. FalcoXKatt, T for mild swearing.


**Hello there, Frost Beak with this here one-shot! It's a warm up story, so don't expect anything amazing-or original in that case. In fact, I consider it very cliche for a pairing story. This is the time for you to criticize me as far as grammar and spelling goes. Here goes nothing!**

**If something doesn't make sense, remember the above statement.**

~_Frost Beak_

* * *

With the heating system unable to operate for the rest of the night, the whole of the Starfox team was forced to endure the entirety of it in the bitter cold of outer space. If it wasn't for the high quality back-up climate systems within each room, they would have been frozen solid within seconds after the dysfunction.

Unable to sleep with a temperature so far gone from what his Zonessian tropical adaptions were used to and set on his least favorite climate, Falco had left his bed nearly as soon as he had gotten into it. Later on, he ran by the bathroom to take a long, hot shower in an attempt to soothe the chill of midnight. When this proved to be effective only for a short time, he accepted the fact that he would not be able to sleep in these conditions, zipped his jacket up to the collar, and made his way to the den to wait the night out.

He should have been expecting an eventual error; After all, the heating system had not been checked or replaced for years since they had been installed and had been producing odd noises throughout the month. It could have been repaired earlier, had anyone gathered together the motivation to do so.

There was no use fretting over spilled milk of course. After tonight, the heating would be active once more, and Falco would earn a well deserved nap.

For now however, he was going to remain curled up upon the couch, attempting to keep as warm as possible while the time ticked away on the clock above the TV. He had previously tried to surf the midnight channels for something to distract him from the discomfort, but he aborted that idea when he had accidentally switched the screen to a late night ice cream commercial.

Tensing his muscles to halt the shivering of his body and the soft chattering of his teeth,he tucked himself further back into the pit of the couch arm, hugging himself tighter still as the situation got worse and worse.

He did not know how much longer he could take this. Any worse and he might actually fly those extra miles through space to stay the night at Zoness, the planet he so desperately wanted to be on at the moment. Humidity was his deepest desire at that point.

"Aww, is my birdie boy cold, too?" Said a clever, familiar voice; Falco didn't mind it's owner, he just hated the tone being used for it.

"Katt, is this really the moment?" He groaned in protest, watching the feline stroll around from behind the sofa, a look of nonchalant disappointment on her face.

"Alright then, don't get your feathers all in a frizz." She said flatly, taking a seat beside him, resting her elbows in her lap and propping her chin up in her palms. "You tried the hot shower too, huh? That actually makes it worse, you know."

"How the hell do you know about that?" The avian asked suspiciously, thinking immediately of stalking and shuffling further away from the feline.

At first, Katt looked surprised by his sudden change of tone. Then she snickered, pulling a lush blue feather from her hair; Falco had not noticed it until that very moment.

"You tend to lose feathers in the bathroom." She explained, smirking as his face fell into a look of bored unamusement . "I will say this is a rather nice one, so I'm going to keep this. OK?"

Falco rolled his eyes, leaning back against the head of the couch. "Whatever, fuzzball. Is the Cat's Paw anywhere near finished with the repairs?"

"It's coming along. Slowly, but surely. Why? I'm not getting on your nerves already, am I?"

"To tell you the truth..."

"Bastard."

"Well-!"

Katt glared, shoving Falco's shoulder in frustration. He couldn't help but laugh; He had always found her anger rather funny.

"Laugh it up Polly, it makes everything so much better." The feline said with a snort. Her neutral mood was gone thanks to her overreaction, replaced by a more sour version. She wrapped her arms around herself after a short, violent shiver. "How come the heating has to stop working while I'm stuck here with no transportation?"

She had to bring it up. It had started to get better in his distraction before she called it to his attention again. He tucked himself into his previous position, his expression falling once more. "Bad luck. Looks like you're gonna have to suffer like the rest of us, fluffy."

For a while, they were silent, Falco's gaze settling once more onto the clock. Their short conversation had used up 3 minutes of the night.

Three less to wait out.

A few moments after, he noticed that Katt was looking at him strangely, as if something odd had plastered itself to his body, and she was hesitating to point it out.

"...What?" he said finally, when his irritation and suspicion reached an uncontainable level.

"You're shaking like crazy." she said pointedly, her expression unchanged.

Falco glanced at his wing briefly; She was correct, of course. Unable to ignore the biting cold, his body had begun reacting appropriately once more, and the chill returned to leak beneath his jacket and between his feathers.

"Can say the same for you." he murmured defensively, sensing the feeling of concern in her voice and becoming slightly miffed at the idea that she thought that he might _possibly _need help.

Her trembling was starting to bother him, and he found himself wondering if they had any extra blankets in the closet next to the bathroom...

"Stop that. It wasn't an insult, it was a fact." said Katt, edging closer to him as her concern ignited.

"Seriously Katt, I'm fine. I've had to camp on Fichina before, it's been worse." Falco insisted, but she had already clasped her paws around his wing.

"Damn Fal, your wing is a mobile ice cube!" she exclaimed, causing Falco to sigh.

"You're not making it better, freezer paws!" he stated, though he did not attempt to move; The frost was gone as soon as it came, replaced by the soothing warmth of the heat emanating from Katt's fur. Where there was a trace of it, his logic dictated, there was more around it, and his attention rose to the smooth, feline face.

An oddity of unfamiliar emotions ensued; He wanted to embrace her. His heartbeat quickened at the thought of their bodies pressed together throughout the remainder of the cold night. Not only would it make it more comfortable, but it may actually make him feel better for attempting to turn her down earlier, which was causing him a late arrived and unwanted guilt. It was becoming more and more obvious that she was as unhappy as he was, and it was causing him the odd, strange stress he often felt whenever she was in peril or distressed.

Much to his discomfort, Katt quickly pulled away, looking offended. "Well fine, if you don't want me to-"

The movement was almost impulsive. Before she could finish, the avian had pulled her up against his body in a firm embrace. What was left of his sense screamed that he release her immediately, but his mind and body remained unwilling to let go. The nipping cold was already leaving him, replaced by a much needed pleasurable warmth from the feline's body. Katt herself was practically frozen, shocked by his unexpected actions.

"Falco...?" she managed to slowly utter in confusion before fading off into silence. For a bliss moment, all Falco could hear was the sound of slowing breath and the pounding of his own paced heart in his chest.

Another, and he pushed her away with a rough force, a loud gasp caught in his throat as if he was submerged in water and had just resurfaced for air.

"Damn, I wasn't thinking at all-Seriously, this doesn't mean any-"

But the feline was already clinging to him once more, burying her muzzle into his collar bone with a deep sigh of contentment. Her warm breath trickled past the threads of his jacket and between the lush blue feathers beneath it.

He could feel his blood rush to his face in response, and he made to push her off as a first reaction in a haze of puzzlement as to why this was happening so easily at all.

"Don't be an idiot..." Growled Katt's muffled voice, her paws digging into his back as assistance in showing him that there was no chance of her relinquishing her well earned place this close to his body.

After a second of contemplating this and to his utter astonishment, he relaxed, his eyes remaining dilated to the size of pancakes. He leaned back against the head of the couch in spite of himself, staring down at his bold childhood friend.

The feline's shallow breathing was slowing once more into a deep, peaceful pace, her entire body at ease as their combined warmth seemingly rotated through their skins and drowned out the bleak temperature surrounding them. The only sound audible in the silence was the soft purring deep within her throat. He knew at that moment that slowly but surely, Katt was drifting off into sleep.

"Or, you could just hang around..." He mumbled, unsure of whether this single remark was sarcastic or of the latter. It no longer mattered; The new found comfort of the night's events was beginning to get the best of him, his awareness fading into a drowsy non-existence.

Wrapping his arms around Katt's petite form, he rested his head between her ears, his eyes heavy with fatigue and his heart light with a feeling of mutual, protective affection.

With a soft, deep sigh, Falco drifted away into the peaceful conscious of slumber...

* * *

**OK, that's a wrap! Whatcha think, hmm? Good? Bad? Unbelievably vomit inducing? I need to know. Yes, see that button down there? Press it. Now.**

~_Frost Beak_


End file.
